Inventory of the Brown Family Papers In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research LibraryProcessed by: Jalien Hollister; machine-readable finding aid created by: Mark ProcknikInventory of the Brown Family Papers In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Papers and correspondence to Lydia Grinnell Brown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, from her mother, father, and brother between the years 1910 and 1924. The letters and newspaper clippings reflect the experiences of a black family living in New Bedford and during World War I. Dallas Brown Jr.'s observant letters to Lydia describe his experiences while stationed in the U.S. Army at various segregated army camps in the United States and France.

Lydia G. Brown was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1895. She attended New Bedford High-school (college course) around the year 1910. She then graduated Simmons College with a BS in Secretarial Studies in 1915 and was employed by the Homestead Commission, State House, Boston, Massachusetts. During World War I she served as a translator of foreign languages in one of the war emergency boards in Washington D.C. After the war she was employed in the Labor Department, circa 1920. She was then employed as a teacher by the Dunbar School in Washington, D.C. in 1920. Around 1921 Lydia was a delegate and worked as a translator for the Pan-African Congress in Paris, London and Brussels, Belgium. She lived in Paris from 1923 to 1924. Lydia G. Brown never married. She died in New York City June 19, 1945, aged 52 years. She is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Dallas Brown Jr. was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1890, attended school in New Bedford, and later graduated from M.I.T. in 1910 with a M.E. He served in WWI with the 317th Engineers, A. E. F., 92nd Division in France. He was a First–class Sergeant and Chief Assistant to Topographical Division (topographical and mechanical drafting). Dallas Brown Jr. enlisted in the Army in 1918 and his letters describe his experiences as a new recruit into the segregated troop camps and living in France. He had five and a half years experience in the construction installation and operation of engines, boilers, fuel-oil systems at the F. R. Ship Corp. in Quincy, Massachusetts. He spent one year on milling machine construction at the Becker Milling Machine Co. of Hyde Park, MA. He also spent one year as designing draftsman and assistant to Master Mechanic of the Revere Rubber Co. of Chelsea, MA. In 1921 he was listed as a clerk in the Census and from 1924-1926 he served as an assistant instructor at the Swain School in New Bedford. His last known address was in New York City in 1955. He never married.

Lavinia Clark Brown was from Providence, R.I. She was 60 years old when she died in New Bedford on 14 May, 1925. She was apparently unemployed but was an accomplished seamstress. Her parents were Charles and Louisa Hamilton Clark of New York City. She claimed Alexander Hamilton, (1757-1804) Secretary of the Treasury, as a grandfather. She also claimed Touissant Louverture Francois Dominique (1743-1803) as a part of her West Indian heritage.

Dallas Brown Sr. was born in 1861 in Maryland, the son of Allen and Elizabeth West Brown. He lived in Providence, R.I. for a time and in New Bedford at 184 Rockland St. for many years. Mr. Brown was a communicant of Grace Episcopal Church as well as a butler for Frederick Grinnell (1836-1915) at 379 County St. in New Bedford, MA. He was listed in the census as a butler from 1894 until 1910, but from 1921 to 1932 he was listed as a caretaker. He and Lavinia were most likely married around 1886. Mr. Brown died at Massachusetts General Hospital, October 1933 at the age of 72.

The bulk of this collection consists of Lydia G. Brown's incoming correspondence from her mother, 1916-1924, father, 1905, 1917-1924, and her brother, 1918-1924. Also included among Lydia's correspondence is a letter from Dallas Brown Jr. to Dallas Brown Sr., 1918, along with Lydia's general correspondence to friends, institutions, and organizations, 1917-1924. There is also one letter included in this collection written in 1884 by Mar E. Springstern to her cousins Alf and Emma.

Also included in this collection are Lydia’s school books and papers from 1900 to 1915. These school books and examination books illustrate Lydia's dedication and her perseverance for excellence. This collection also contains ephemera of Lydia Brown and her brother Dallas Brown Jr., 1890-1938. Ephemera pertaining to Lydia spans the years 1907-1910, 1915, 1919-1920, 1924, 1938 and consists of programs, postcards, an autograph book, and other small personal items. Ephemera associated with Dallas Brown Jr. is dated 1890, circa 1907, 1910, circa 1916, 1918-1919 and consists of programs, items relating to MIT, and a news clip.

The remainder of this collection contains items not directly associated with Lydia or her brother, Dallas Jr. These unassociated items include programs, dated 1920, and news clippings from 1918.

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Series II consists of Lydia's incoming correspondence from her mother (Lavinia), father (Dallas Brown Sr.), and brother (Dallas Brown Jr.). Correspondence from Dallas Brown Sr. to his son (Dallas Brown Jr.) along with Lydia's general correspondence to individuals, organizations, and institutions is also represented.